An Egyptian farmer has uncovered a 2,600-year-old stela erected in the time of Pharaoh Apries. The find was announced by the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry which is now trying to decipher the writing on the slab of sandstone.
Secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, said that the stela appears to be related to a military campaign that Apries undertook east of Egypt.
The find was made near Ismailia, around 100 kms from the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The sandstone slab is around ¼ metre long and 103cm wide. The tablet depicts an image of a winged sun disk relating to Egyptian God 'Ra' and an image relating to Pharaoh Apries.
Further down the stela, there are 15 lines of writing. It is not clear yet what the writing relates to but is thought to potentially relate to war that was undertaken by the Pharaoh Apries, sometimes referred to as Wahibre Haaibre, who ruled Egypt in around 600 BC and is said by ancient historians to have fought a losing battle against the Phoenicians.
Those same historians, including Herodotus, say that the loss of the war resulted in Apries being overthrown and a civil war breaking out within Egypt itself. Apries was then replaced by Amasis.
It is possible that once the 15 lines of writing are deciphered, historians will have greater insight into these ancient events.
Stelas, translate to pillar or shaft in Greek, and were used to keep buildings erect, but also for ornamental purposes, such as memorials, statues, and information points. The fact that the Ancient Egyptians carved their stelas has long given historians and archaeologists insight into the ancient world.
[h/t: Live Science]
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